Too Much Drama in Your Family?

There was a family and talk about DRAMA…this family was filled with it:

Jealousy

Sibling rivalry

Hate

It got so bad, the siblings took the favorite son and sold him into human trafficking; and told their dad he had died tragically.

Years passed; others abused and mistreated this young man.  He spent time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, but that was part of the troubled trajectory of his life.

More years passed.  Hard years.

But ever so slowly, life began to turn around.  Good things happened, good opportunities came this young man’s way.  So much so --and shockingly so-- this man became a political leader who had influence over the most powerful nation on earth.

And in a twist, during a severe famine, the brothers who sold this man, eventually encountered him---and because they believed him long dead, they didn’t recognize him.  All they knew was that they were standing in front of a powerful man who had the political influence to help them get food.

When they realize they are standing before their brother, who they betrayed and sold away, they were terrified; rightly so.

But Joseph, this man in the Bible who all this happened to;

Joseph, the favorite son to whom his father gave a coat of many colors--which incited his sibling’s jealousy; 

Joseph, now second to only Pharaoh over all of Egypt and more importantly, the man who had final say over who received food during a famine where thousands starved to death;

Joseph, who had more dramatic relationships in his life than ten other people combined;

Joseph looked back on his life and saw a how God used all of it.

All of it

All the people

All the pain

All the drama

And within the drama, he could see a reason, a tapestry that God wove,

a purpose for his pain;

direction from the drama.

It ALL worked together to get him where God had planned all along.  Joseph looked at his brothers and said-

Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good

Think of the relationships in your life.  The hard ones.  The ones that cause pain or drama.

 Consider:  Some people come into your life to stay and some come just for a season, but everyone comes for a reason!  Look for what God is doing through your relationships.

Brad Johnson is Pastor of California Community Church in Agoura Hills, CA

The church meets in the Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel with services at 9:30 and 11:00.